


Sleep

by puncrastinasian



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Wrote this on my ff account like years ago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 11:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7359772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puncrastinasian/pseuds/puncrastinasian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes the line between life and death blur and disappear beneath the careful watch of the moon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, hey, hey,  
> Yes, I'm here with a UlquiHime work now. Yes, I know, a bit old fashioned with the Bleach. This was an old work I posted on my fanfiction.net account two years ago so I thought I'd edit it and bring it here.

_"I'll ask you again."_

  
Orihime stares at the moon that is oh so far away through her window.

  
_"Are you afraid…woman?"_

  
Her arms wrap around her person tightly.

  
_"I'm not afraid."_

  
The moon is different here, from the view of her window at home.

  
_"What is a heart?"_

  
Her heart beat pounds strongly under her skin, echoing almost painfully throughout her body.

  
_"If I tear open your chest, will I see it there?"_

  
It was so cold, so much colder than her cell in Hueco Mundo. Because at least in there, he always came.

  
_"If I smash open your skull, will I find it there?"_

  
Her grey eyes are focused on the moon, unwavering.

  
_"Ulquiorra."_

  
She would not forget.

  
_"Ulquiorra-"_

  
She could not forget.

  
_"Ulquiorra!"_

  
She wouldn't-she couldn't-

  
_"Inoue!"_

  
Her fingers dig into her skin, leaving crescent marks that resemble the moon her eyes rest upon. The sharp pain did nothing to bring her back from her thoughts.

 

_"Inoue-san!"_

  
They are all calling her.

  
_"Orihime!"_

 

But she can't hear them, how could she?

  
_"I..noue…"_

  
Her eyes, ears, lips, touch…only seek one thing, one person, one touch. And the corners of her lips twitch ever so slightly as she imagines what he would have said if she mentioned her longing.

  
_"Is it not cruel to breathe but cannot smell? To eat but cannot taste? To hear but cannot comprehend? To touch but cannot feel? To see your friends in ruins, but cannot care?"_

  
She hadn't understood then but she does now and-

  
_"Woman."_

  
A ragged breath fights it way from her throat and leaves her mouth in a form of a sob and a name.

  
_"Ridiculous, I am not here to comfort you."_

  
Tears well up in her eyes against her will and proceed to drip slowly down her face. But her gaze, faithful still to the moon despite it being the wrong one.

  
_"Why do you cry, woman."_

  
She was such a fool.

  
How could she miss the longing glances that Rukia and Ichigo shared? How could she have been so blinded by her so called 'love'?

  
_"Watch closely, as the man you pinned your dreams on dies."_

  
It has been close to a year and not once did the out of reach brush of their fingers escape her nightmares.

  
_"I'll ask you again."_

  
She sobs.

  
The moon was waning and soon, he'll be gone again. Until tomorrow night. Her fingers reach up to touch her pins. They were cold and flat and her hands drop to her sides, clenched in anger, in defeat, and finally, in guilt.

  
What was the use of them, if they couldn't save him?

  
_"Are you afraid?"_

  
"I reject." She tries desperately, though no matter how much her powers have developed, no matter how much her heart cried out, the warmth of the orange shield could not wipe the tears or the year away. Her figure trembles as her heart remembers what her powers cannot bring back.

  
_"I'm not afraid."_

 

"I reject. I reject." Her cries and demands grow louder as the night fades under the gentle streaks of sunlight. Despite the warmth, she was cold, so very cold without the moon.

  
_"I see."_

  
Bright green eyes and out-stretched fingers she will never reach, the image seared into her eyelids so that whenever she closed her eyes, she sees herself, helplessly reflected in his eyes.

  
_"So this in my hand...is a heart."_

  
She could hear his whispers.

  
Her mind relives the last moment he has lived as her heart pumps away, struggling to keep the body alive when the mind has already died.

  
She shields her eyes from the bright glow of the sun, hating it, loathing it. She wants so badly to snuff it out, like a candle in a dark room.

  
She smiles bitterly.

  
How horrible his death had made her, maybe it was best if she had joined him. She raises her head to look at the sunrise, the bright colors never failed to send her into shock after the days trapped in a colorless room.  But she has no need for these colors, they only cause distractions, as he would say.

  
Soon, the day will begin. Soon, she will have to put of her uniform as well as her smile and face the world. Soon-soon-but soon seemed so far away from now.  She doesn't allow herself to speak, as if it will break the tranquil silence as the last traces of the moon fades completely beneath the harsh bright light of the sun.

  
_"Are you afraid?"_

  
Was there a time where she wasn't?

  
_"I'm not afraid."_

  
She was afraid of so many things.

  
_"I'm not afraid."_

  
But not him. Never him.

  
_"I'm not afraid."_

  
Because she knows, deep down, that he'll never hurt her.

  
_"I'm not afraid."_

  
Phrases, images, songs, conversations. They all rush about her head. But she could only focus clearly on one. The last words she has ever said to him.

  
_"I'm not afraid."_

  
She repeats it, as if it'll bring him back to life.

  
"I'm not afraid."

  
"I'm not afraid."

  
"I'm not afraid."

  
"I'm not-" Her voice cracks.

  
_"Woman."_

  
She shudders. It's as if he was right behind her.

  
"Woman."

  
Suddenly, she's not home. She is once again in the white prison.

  
"Woman." She turns around.

  
And there he is.

  
"Woman." He repeats. His green eyes never leaving her face, never left her face even as he turned to ash under her touch. "You should be asleep."

  
She merely shakes her head. The voice that comes out is light, not like the heavy tone she uses back at home.

  
"No. I was waiting for you." She says. He merely nods.

  
"I am here. Now sleep." He says, gesturing to the bed. She opens her mouth to object.

  
"Woman." He cuts in smoothly. "I will be here when you wake." She stands for a moment, studying his words. But she trusts him and this white prison has never felt more like home to her as it did now.

  
"Sleep." His voice is as familiar as she remembers. For a second, she glances outside her barred window, her heart doing a small jolt. It's there, the moon, just as it always had been. Relief washes over her.

  
She's safe. He's with her. He will always be there to wake her and if not, he will always come back.

  
She smiles.

  
He is slightly confused as to why, but he doesn't say anything. He knows better.

  
She is tired. She is weary from waiting for him. He sighs, a sound rare for him to make. She turns to him.

  
"Sleep." He says again, more insistent. Her eyes are heavy. She closes them for a moment before the jolt of panic forces her eyes open. Because what if she's back home? What if he's turned back to dust? What if- His name is on the cusp of her lip for her to call out but-

  
But he is still there. Relief washes over her again, he kept his promise, he didn't lie. He never does.

  
"Sleep."

  
And finally, after the long year, she does.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this fic! Be sure to check out my other ones!


End file.
